Those in the know will already be aware of Todd Chrisley as the germophobic patriarch of the USA Network reality TV show, “Chrisley Knows Best”. The show first hit our screens in March 2014 and made instant stars of its cast of dad Todd, mom Julie, sons Kyle, Chase and Grayson, daughters Lindsey and Savannah, and a rag-tag assortment of grandchildren and relatives. Six series down, and America shows no sign of getting bored of the family just yet. With Season 7 already underway (plus an extra helping of Chrisley magic thanks to its new spin- off series, “Growing Up Chrisley,” now’s a great time to catch up on some fun facts about TV’s craziest dad, Todd Chrisley.
1. He rules the roost
We may live in the days of equal rights, but in the Chrisley family, there’s only one head of the household, and it sure as hell ain’t Julie. There’s no getting away from the fact Todd is well and truly king of the Chrisley domain: his iron rule extends from giving final approval on the clothes his family wears to always knowing his children’s whereabouts thanks to the nifty tracking devices he’s fitted to their cars. If someone’s planning on doing something he’d not approve of, they’ll need the stealth tactics of a Ninja to get away with it.
2. He doesn’t mean to cause offense
Todd may be forthright in his opinions, but he rarely intends to cause any harm. His words may sometimes sound harsh, but they come from a good place. “I never say it to hurt you, I never say it to hurt anyone’s feelings, and I certainly don’t want to diminish the growth of my children to become good, positive, constructive adults and to have self-confidence,” Todd shared with E!.
3. He thinks he’s as sane (or crazy) as the next man
Todd and co may seem slightly off- the- wall, but the family patriarch think’s that underneath it all, he’s no crazier than the next man… it’s just that he tends to show his sanity in slightly more, shall we say, “unusual” ways than most. “I feel like our crazy is a lot of the same crazy that’s going on in everyone’s home. We might just dress a little differently with our crazy.” Todd told E!
4. Julia isn’t his first wife
When Todd and Julie married on May 25, 1996, it wasn’t the first time down the aisle for either of them. Prior to Julie, Todd had been married to Teresa. Terry and Theresa got hitched in 1989 after Theresa discovered she was pregnant with the couple’s first child. Their union ended in 1996 (the same year he married Julie) and spawned 2 children, Lindsie Chrisley Campbell and Kyle Chrisley.
5. His talk show was canned after just one season
In 2017, Todd branched out from his family to take center stage in his own talk show. “According to Chrisley” featured Todd giving his hilarious insights into parenting, sex and relationships in a weekly half hour slot. Each show featured at least one tale about the wider Chrisley family along with a celebrity guest (Ali Landry, Chris Jericho, Erika Jayne, Metta World Peace, Jason George, Nicole Sullivan, Christina Milian, Carmen Electra and Heather Dubrow all made turns). The show premiered on 12 September 2017, but unfortunately, Todd wasn’t quite so popular without the backup of his famous family. After just one season, USA Network decided to pull the plug.
6. He’s not a dictator
Despite clearly being a strong character, Todd is by no means a tyrant. When it comes to making important decisions, he always makes sure to consult his family first. This has proven especially true when anyone in the family starts to question the continued filming of Chrisley Knows Best. “If we have someone who is not interested in moving forward, then we hear that person out. We don’t have any hard feelings about that, but majority rules,” he told TV Insider. ‘It takes more than one monkey to stop a show. We make these decisions jointly and cohesively.”
7. He’s grateful to the show in more ways than one
Todd may be thankful to “Chrisley Knows Best” for the fame and fortune its bought, but there’s another, equally heartfelt reason behind his gratitude. Filming the show has, according to Todd, forced the family to stick together and work through any problems they have as a unit. “It’s been very good for us because it has forced us to stay together to deal with whatever issues our kids are having,” he told TV Insider, before adding (slightly sinisterly), ”I say the show in retrospect has been the best babysitter I’ve ever had because I’ve got six million eyeballs a week telling me what my kids are doing.”
8. He appeared in Sharknado
In 2016, Todd, along with his kids Savannah and Grayson, appeared in the infamous Sharknado 4: The 4th Awakens. The Chrisley’s (who stared as themselves in the critical flop), featured alongside a lineup of stars including Tara Reid, Ian Ziering, Maslela Lusha, and, last but certainly not least, the great Berlin Wall destroyer himself, David Hasselhoff. So far, Todd has resisted the urge to appear in any more films, but who knows what the future holds?
9. He’s allegedly bankrupt
He may be raking in the cash these days, but life hasn’t always been so rosy for Todd. According to Investopedia, in 2012 (just 2 years prior to Todd making his first appearance in “Chrisley Knows Best”), the flashy southerner filed for bankruptcy, claiming to have no more than $100 dollars in cash, $4.2 million in assets and a whopping $49 million of debt. Despite some suggestion Todd was being slightly less than truthful about his true worth (and his wife’s for that matter, who was found to have a personal fortune of $3 million after receiving more than $700,000 in transfers from Tod’s investment company, CAM), the bankruptcy petition was granted and eventually settled in 2015.
10. He’s known for being flash with his cash
Despite being a declared bankrupt, Todd is by no means a scrooge. If anything, he tends more to the other extreme, having become as well known for his designer clothes, luxury cars and 30,000 square foot quasi — mansion as he is for his witty asides and catchy put downs. A prime example of his ostentation (not to say his unconventional parenting methods) was highlighted during an early episode of “Chrisley Knows Best”, when the hot-tempered patriarch flung his son’s laptop into the pool for no other reason than to teach him a lesson. Perhaps a lesson or two in not throwing good money after bad would come in handy for the dad as much as the son…
11. He made his fortune in real estate
These days, reality TV is keeping the Chrisley bank account nicely topped up, but back in the days before “Chrisley Knows Best’, Todd was making his cash as a real estate investor. Despite being pretty vague about the specifics of his investments, it’s reported his investment firm Chrisley Asset Management (CAM) specialized in buying up foreclosed houses for peanuts, before selling them on for a profit. As for a lot of businesses, CAM was hit heavily by the 2009 recession; despite Todd’s valiant attempts to revive the struggling company’s fortunes, he ultimately proved unsuccessful. In 2013, just a year before Todd petitioned for personal bankruptcy, CAM went into liquidation.
12. He’s released a single
In 2016, Todd proved there’s more to his talents than meets the eye. Already a success as a reality TV star and actor (if you can call his performance in Sharknado “acting”, that is) Todd decided to treat 2016 as the year to try his hand at singing… something he achieved with no small success with the country single “Infinite Love”, a collaboration with Nashville songstress Sara Evans that managed to climb all the way to #39 on the Billboard charts.
13. He owns a juice bar
In 2016, Todd revealed he was entering the world of healthy living with the opening of a new juice bar. According to reports, the aforementioned retailer of all things green and healthy is the “Juice Bar” of Green Hills in Nashville. Todd isn’t the only member of the Chrisley family to get in on the action, although he hasn’t always been happy with his kid’s involvement, scolding the particularly work-shy Chase with the words “This isn’t your daddy talking, this is your boss talking.”
14. He’s moving into catering
In 2018, Todd confirmed he and wife Julie would shortly be realizing their life- long dream of opening a restaurant. Julie has always been passionate about cooking and plans to feature many of her family’s favorites on the restaurant’s menu of southern comforts. If what she says is to be believed, anyone lucky enough to visit the restaurant is in for a treat: “I love to cook,” Julie told Tennessean. “And anybody who tastes my food says, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s better than anything I’ve had.’ It’s my passion.”
15. He has a strained relationship with Kyle
Todd’s relationship with his son Kyle is at best “strained” and at worst “non-existent”. In 2014, Kyle gave an interview in which he described the family patriarch as “bankrupt, toxic and a snake”. According to Kyle, Todd had shut him out of his daughter Chloe’s life after claiming legal guardianship of her… something Kyle claims he did solely as a way of boosting ratings for his reality TV show: “My dad showed no interest in Chloe at all until the show and until it was pointed out that having a mixed-race child and getting her and all that would be good for his demographic”. The elder Chrisley, of course, denied the allegations, telling reporters that Kyle’s comments were driven by his addictions and mental health problems.
16. His sexuality has been questioned
He may be married and have five kids, but that hasn’t stopped the rumors about Todd’s sexual predilections from circulating. According to Todd, gossip about his sexuality is something he’s faced for years, even before becoming a household name. However, the rumors are apparently just that: “There’s no coming out,” he told PEOPLE. “What you see is what you get. I am what I am. Other people’s opinions of me are just not my business.”
17. He’s a prankster
In one of the more memorable episodes of “Chrisley Knows Best”, Todd showed his funny side when he recounted a tale of how he once fooled his mother, Nanny Faye, into thinking she was getting arrested after he discovered she’d been driving around on a suspended lesson. Todd clearly found the prank hilarious… whether Nanny Faye found it quite so funny is another matter entirely.
18. He’s been a victim of extortion
In 2016, it was revealed a member of the wider Chrisley family had been arrested. The person in question was Pamela Chrisley, Todd’s sister-in-law. The situation started after Randy Chrisley asked his wife for a divorce. Clearly not happy with his request, she retorted by threatening Todd and his family with selling a story about them to the press unless they coughed up several hundred thousand dollars. Todd refused, went to the police and a short time later, Pamela was in handcuffs.
19. His family has suffered tragedy
Todd was born Michael Todd Chrisley in Georgia on April 6, 1969, to stay-at-home mum, Faye, and war veteran, Gene Chrisley. After Todd, Fay and Gene went on to have 2 more children, son’s Randy and Derrick. Tragically, Derrick passed away while he was still a toddler, leaving the family in such a state of devastation that, even all these years later, they still refuse to speak about it.
20. He’s proud of his kids
In 2018, it was announced Todd’s kids Savannah and Chase would be going it alone on the all-new spin off series, “Growing Up Chrisley”. Todd is clearly more than a little proud (and teary- eyed) at seeing his birds fly the nest: “Well, from one boss b– to the next, I’m proud of you,” he told Savannah. “It’s hard for me to let go of you. I’m going to worry about you until the day that the good Lord takes my last breath.”Chrisley Knows Best
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